Story of India's 96th Grandmaster Ethan Vaz
Fourteen-year-old Ethan Vaz landed in Mumbai still riding high from a life-changing trip across Europe. In just a few whirlwind weeks, the young Goan chess player won the Sarajevo GM Mix in Bosnia and Herzegovina, secured his final Grandmaster norm, and became India's 96th Grandmaster. Hardly stopping to celebrate, he kept the momentum going, capping off his trip with a third-place finish at the Serbia Open Masters.
A Conversation With India's 96th GM Ethan Vaz
From a chessboard his mother brought home to ten-hour days of online blitz during the lockdown, Ethan's rise has been anything but conventional. Sagar Shah caught up with Ethan on his way home for a candid chat about his whirlwind rise, the nail-biting games that sealed his title, and the family that made it all possible. Check out the transcript of the interview:
Interview by Sagar Shah
SS: You have just become India's 96th Grandmaster. You are on your way back home and you made a small stop in Mumbai. Where were you?
EV: I was playing in Serbia, the Serbia Open Masters, where I finished third, and from there I'm going home. I made my final GM norm and I became a GM. That happened in Bosnia, in the Sarajevo GM Mix tournament. I scored 7/9. I drew the final game, I got a quick draw, and that's how I became the 96th GM of India. I had already crossed 2500 in December. I made my first two norms and the first one in Bosnia, in Bijeljina, and the second one in Serbia, in Senta.
SS: You're only 14. Did becoming a GM feel like the completion of a dream, or just a natural next step?
EV: I became an IM at 12 years 4 months exact, and then it was quite a struggle to get my first GM norm. I was very close many times, but I was not able to get that norm, and eventually I got that breakthrough in October 2025. After that, I had the motivation that I could get the other two norms and become a GM.
SS: So, it's not like the completion of something very important, but it's like you have a long journey ahead now?
EV: It has been my childhood dream to become a GM since I probably started chess, and I'm very happy that I could achieve it. I hope to go further in chess and probably go on to 2600, 2700. Then I hope to become a World Champion, like Gukesh.
SS: When did your chess journey actually begin?
EV: I started chess at the age of six and a half, in 2017. I had slow improvement in the start, but I felt the main breakthrough came for me during the lockdown. I used to play a lot online, even past midnight and I would just keep on playing because I would get the opportunity to play against strong players online, which, before the lockdown, my rating was too low and I didn't get this opportunity. After the lockdown was over, my progress was really seen. I went from 1300 to 1700 directly, and then eventually became an IM very fast.
"I used to just enjoy playing... it was very fun." - Ethan Vaz, on the ten-hour days of online blitz that fuelled his rise.
SS: Who first got you into chess? Was it your dad? And how did the local club come about?
EV: My mother had got a chessboard at home, and that's how I got interested in the game. My passion was seen for the game, so my parents put me into a local chess club. The name was Brain Power, in Madgaon, pretty much 10 minutes from my house.
SS: During the lockdown, your online rating was far higher than your official one. Did anyone try to stop you from playing so much because many people say that too many online games might ruin your chess?
EV: Yeah, my rating in blitz was probably 2700-something online. My parents never stopped me. I used to continuously play, like in a day probably more than maybe 10 hours. It was a lot of hard work, but it was very fun. I used to just enjoy playing. Of course, solving puzzles and playing, both of those things.
SS: Tell us about your coaches, starting with your first one.
EV: My first trainer's name was Prakash Vikram Singh. I used to coach with him until I became an IM. He started coaching pretty early on, so maybe he did not play that much in his time, but I think he's decently strong, probably nowadays like 1700-1800. He really helped me in my early days. After that, I switched coaches. Now I am coaching with Grandmaster Swayams Mishra and Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan.
SS: What about your family? Do you have a brother who also plays?
EV: My brother was put into the club first, and I was a bit reluctant; I was a bit scared. He was the first person to start playing chess, and he played for quite some time. He still plays, but now he's focusing on studies because he started two years later and reached 10th standard faster, so he did not get that much time to focus on chess. He's also about 1800 now, probably stronger, but he's not played much recently. I still do play practice games with him sometimes before a tournament. I think maybe if he starts playing, he might get to 2200.
SS: Your father travels with you to tournaments. How has that support shaped your journey, and what about your mother? I think one time I met her was at the Group e4 meet.
EV: My mother has also been very supportive. She has been giving emotional support from home. After my game, I will always call her and talk to her regularly.
SS: Does she talk about non-chess things? That happened in my case, like my dad used to talk about chess, and my mother would usually be like, 'Don't worry, tell me what you ate today'.
EV: She used to work; she was an engineer before, and now she is taking care of the family.
SS: And what about your dad? I have seen he's very involved in your chess games. He follows almost every game of yours. How is that experience for you? Because sometimes it can be a boon, but maybe sometimes it can be a little too much. How was it for you?
EV: My dad has also been very supportive in my chess career. He understands why I make such decisions in games, and he supports me a lot during the tournament. I am very grateful to have him.
SS: So when he travels with you, is it easier for you, or do you also want to explore travelling alone?
EV: It's very good that I am able to travel with him. He takes care of other activities like food and all, and I get to focus on my chess full time.
SS: Your improvement came largely from playing online, especially bullet and blitz. Did books or courses play a role too?
EV: Mainly bullet and blitz. At that time I used to not read books much, but now I'm reading. I would analyse my games, which I used to play online. Recently I've been reading a book on the Theoretical Rook Endgames by Sam Shankland. It's a nice book.
SS: Which tournaments after the lockdown stood out as breakthrough moments?
EV: My first two tournaments after the lockdown were the National Sub-Junior Under-16 and National Junior Under-19. I increased by a total of like 388 points, if I remember correctly. I went directly from 1384 to 1772, which was a huge jump. That was probably the turning point, and that's where I really felt confident about my chess.
SS: Tell us about your performance at the 2023 Delhi GM tournament. You did very well in that tournament.
EV: I finished sixth in a field of many strong GMs, like 2550+ rated, and that was an excellent performance from me. I scored 8.5 out of 10; I remained unbeaten, and in the last one I defeated Grandmaster Stany. I was 11 or 12 at that time. I went on to win the National Juniors title with a score of 10.5 out of 11. I've played a lot of nationals and had setbacks. So, most of the time I would finish second or third but miss out on the championship, so I was very happy to win that title.
SS: What happened at the World Youth Championship where you reached three rounds late?
EV: After the India versus USA match, the plan was that I would reach two rounds late for the World Youth, and it would have been if I had won all games, nine out of eleven; I would have probably surely been top three. Unfortunately, my flight got delayed, and I missed another round. So I just took the tournament as good practice and ended up scoring seven and a half, and the winners, top three, had scored eight points. If I had won that missed game, maybe I would have won the tournament too. That tournament was also a very big boost for me. I gained around 10 Elo, which was remarkable, and within two or three months I reached 2500.
SS: So do you think sometimes we just think like, "Oh, this tournament is important because I'll win it," but actually, it's not that important? It's like every game we play is important because you can gain rating or learn something. Is that the kind of mindset you started building for yourself?
EV: Yeah. Like, as I became a stronger player, I realised that every game is very important and every game teaches you something.
SS: Tell us the role of GM Swayams Mishra because I think he came into your chess journey at the right time when you were improving, and he accelerated it.
EV: I started coaching with Swayams Sir in May 2022, and I'm currently also training with him. Around that time, I was about 1800. I've learned many new openings with him, many new courses, and he also told me to read more books.
SS: And recently you've started working with GM Srinath. Is it not common to have new coaches, yeah? If you could tell us about that.
EV: Sometimes Swayams Sir would be busy, so we needed another coach, so we reached out to Srinath Sir, and he's also been very helpful in my tournaments and my prep. Both have been helping in openings and all aspects.
SS: Where do you focus most of your training time these days?
EV: Recently I've been mainly focusing on openings, because that's where most players nowadays are very good at. I've been trying to expand my repertoire.
SS: 15. As a young player, how do you see chess evolving: classical, rapid, blitz, or Freestyle (Chess960)?
EV: Classical chess has been very important for a long time, but I am very interested in Chess960 and how it will turn out if it becomes the main format. I would also be very happy to play new positions, no openings, just chess, all skill, all your talent.
SS: Doesn't that make all your opening preparation redundant?
EV: I have no problem. I think I am good enough in other phases of the game as well.
SS: How do you balance chess with school?
EV: My school has been very supportive in that aspect. They give me leave whenever I want to play tournaments. I go to The King's School. They sometimes allow me to skip exams for my tournaments, and if I'm not able to appear, they reschedule the exams so I can appear later. I am in 10th grade now, and I have boards coming up in February, so I have to catch up on my studies once I go back.
SS: So will you study now? Do you think you want to study, or are you like, "Oh, I am GM already, I don't need to study?"
EV: Well, that's a debatable question. I don't really like studying, but I think it's very important in a person's life.
SS: Do you have friends in school?
EV: My friends miss me when I'm not in school, and they message me. I do have friends in school because I probably go to school for about half the year.
SS: You must have travelled a lot. How many countries have you been to?
EV: About 20 countries, I counted. I don't like to actually travel and go sightseeing. I just like to focus on the tournament, my games, and prepare for the rounds.
SS: Have you ever found it important to work on physical fitness?
EV: Sometimes I do exercise, but not yet. I think I'm just fine.
SS: Do you have sponsors who have supported this journey?
EV: Yeah, I've had a few. I hope I don't miss out on any: Geno, TKS (The Knight School), my school (King's School), HelpChess Foundation, ChessBase India, Chola Chess, Group E4, well-wishers, and people who contributed to my crowdfunding campaign. My father had done that campaign, and all his friends had contributed, and I'm thankful to all these people who have supported me in my chess.
SS: Some players feel a lack of ambition right after becoming a GM. Did that happen to you?
EV: We had planned several tournaments. I really badly wanted to become a GM on this trip, and after I became a GM, I had to play the tournaments I'd committed to, and I still played with the same passion. It didn't really impact me. Personally, I don't know how, but if you have the passion for the game, you just keep going.
SS: What advice would you give a younger player dreaming of becoming a GM one day?
EV: Keep focusing on your chess, and if you enjoy the game and you're really passionate about it, you will go very far. That's how my journey in chess was, and I really enjoyed it. I just kept playing and playing, and that's how I became a GM.
Ethan also discussed some of his games with Sagar Shah. You can check it out here:
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